


Just a Little More

by orphan_account



Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: Alternate Universe - Reverse Falls (Gravity Falls), Angst, Betrayal, Broken Families, Childhood Trauma, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Manipulation, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, Eventual Fluff, F/M, Flirting, Hate to Love, Inspired By Gravity Falls, Jealousy, Just Friends, One-Sided Attraction, Other, Possessive Behavior, Reverse Pines, Rivalry, Secret Relationship, Slow Burn, Teen Romance, Teenagers, Underage Drinking
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-21
Updated: 2020-03-25
Packaged: 2021-02-28 19:01:51
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 7
Words: 18,162
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23252134
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Mason Pines needs just a little more time to find the other two journals for his only friend.Mabel Pines needs just a little more power to keep her entertained.Pacifica Northwest needs just a little more adventure in this weird little town to have the summer of a lifetime.Gideon Gleeful needs just a little more alone time to escape the world crashing around him.Not a single one of them knew that this summer would flip their lives upside down.
Relationships: Dipper Gleeful | Reverse Dipper Pines & Pacifica Southeast | Reverse Pacifica Northwest, Gideon Gleeful/Mabel Pines, Jesus "Soos" Alzamirano Ramirez/Melody, Mabel Gleeful | Reverse Mabel Pines/Gideon Pines | Reverse Gideon Gleeful, Pacifica Northwest/Dipper Pines, Wendy Corduroy/Robbie Valentino
Comments: 4
Kudos: 41





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> this is just a general idea of how I imagined the reverse falls au, but it's the start of a long time passion project of mine :) I hope it's not too bad

My Version of the Reverse Falls

Mason “Dipper” Pines (16):  
\- One of the Pines twins and hell bent on finding the other two journals  
\- Not a people person but can be emotionally manipulative when needed  
\- Is in love with the feeling of power and is cold towards most people in life  
\- Never lets anyone call him Dipper or Ursa

Mabel Pines (16):  
\- The second twin that’s just cruel because she can be  
\- Doesn’t care about the journals as much as she cares about her reputation and power  
\- Has two close friends but treats them like they’re disposable  
\- Seeks the town’s adoration

Pacifica Northwest (16):  
\- Visiting Gravity Falls for summer vacation  
\- Bubbly and bright and into fashion and cute stuff but also athletic and loves the outdoors  
\- Seeks the town’s love  
\- (too) friendly and lets very few people bother her

Gideon Gleeful (15):  
\- Helps his father run the Mystery Shack  
\- Has lived in Gravity Falls his whole life  
\- Doesn’t like the outdoors or people and is self-conscious  
\- Too scared to step out of his comfort zone and just wants a quiet, normal summer

Will Cipher (?):  
\- Serves as the Pines’ butler and the closest thing Mason has to a friend  
\- Has a weak physical form and is helping the Pines twins find the journals so they can strengthen him  
\- Source of the Pines family magic  
\- Descendant of Bill Cipher and is mistreated by Stanley and Stanford because of it

Stanley Pines (old):  
\- The twins’ great uncle and manager of their performances  
\- Professional scammer but nobody notices it with his charisma  
\- Took the twins under his wing after their parents died and is a bad influence but a good great uncle  
\- Nicer than Stanford and really just wants the kids to have what he always wanted - money and power

Stanford Pines (old like Stan):  
\- Stan’s twin and the stricter great uncle  
\- Social recluse and even more obsessed with the journals than Mason  
\- Doesn’t care what the kids do as long as they don’t attract attention to the family secrets  
\- Does not care about human life at all, except maybe his brother

Wendy Corduroy (18):  
\- Local teen disaster with emotional issues and a messed up family  
\- Hangs out with a friend group but is a “lone wolf”  
\- Kind of a jerk to everyone, especially Pacifica  
\- Very blunt about everything and has angry outbursts

Robbie Valentino (18):  
\- Hipster with a man bun  
\- Really loves music and the woods, which is one of the reasons he works at the Mystery Shack  
\- Generally friendly to everyone but is heavily invested in his friend group and loves them all like family  
\- Definitely not a fighter at heart but has the athletic ability to beat someone up if needed

Bud Gleeful (not as old as Stan):  
\- Gideon’s father and Pacifica’s uncle  
\- Owns the Mystery Shack, sees his job as a passion, and loves being a showman  
\- Turns to the journal he found for inspiration and sometimes looks for creatures in secret  
\- Loving person but gets kicked around by the Pines and is too busy trying to save the Mystery Shack from the Tent of Telepathy to really be there for the kids

Soos (30s):  
\- Works a million jobs to support his grandma  
\- Tries to be friendly to the Pines family  
\- Has family ties to the Gleefuls and has been Gideon’s best friend since he was a baby  
\- Focuses a lot more on other people and is already content with what he has

Melody (30s):  
\- Bud’s cousin that came to Gravity Falls over the summer to help him run the Shack  
\- Kind of shy but really sweet  
\- Constantly worries about the kids and comes with them on adventures when she can  
\- Gets attached easily


	2. Tourist Trapped

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pacifica finds something peculiar in the woods and the Pines twins find something peculiar in the library.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m really excited about writing this haha, I just hope it comes together :) enjoy...?

“Pa, look at my arm!” Gideon cried, twisting his forearm up to show Bud the strange pattern of mosquito bites on his arm. “It says ‘beware’!”

“No, son,” Bud said, squinting at the peculiar display, “that says ‘bewarb’.” Gideon huffed in frustration at his dad’s joking tone. “Relax, son, it’s just a few bug bites. Bring some of that bug spray with you later when you hang these up please.”

Bud dropped a stack of flyers on the table, nearly knocking over Gideon’s glass of orange juice. “Since when do we need flyers?” Gideon asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Since those twins set up their home base in our town,” Bud sighed. He didn’t say much after that but Gideon could sense his dad’s sadness. There was a noticeable decline in business at the Mystery Shack, the tourist attraction that served as both Bud’s house and lifelong passion. This summer was the worst one yet; ever since that Pines family moved into town, Bud was running left and right trying to keep his work afloat.

“You want me to hang these up in town?” Gideon asked, visibly upset. It was a well-known fact that he did not enjoy people, much less the weird townsfolk of Gravity Falls. The entirety of his summer vacation so far was spent inside the Shack with the exception of a few trips to the grocery store.

“Just for today,” Bud said. He knew his son was not a people person, and the townsfolk weren’t very friendly either. Before he was homeschooled, it wasn’t uncommon for Gideon to come home crying about some awful comment that a classmate had made about his white hair or ghostly pale skin.

Gideon thought for a moment longer before slowly nodding and telling his dad that he’d get it done. He knew his dad needed the extra help and he didn’t want to lose the Mystery Shack either. It was his home, after all. Besides, he wasn’t doing much just lounging around the house. Maybe getting out on the town for once would be good for him.

“Do you need me to help with anything, Uncle?” Gideon jumped at the sound of his cousin’s voice. He had almost forgotten Pacifica was there.

“If you don’t mind, could you put up these signs along the road to the Shack?” Bud gestured to some flashy signs leaned up against the wall. “Sorry to put you to work on your vacation- “

“It’s a-okay with me, Uncle,” Pacifica chirped reassuringly. “It’ll give me some time to walk around the woods for a bit too. I really don’t mind.” Bud thanked her and Gideon before leaving them to finish their breakfast. She wasn’t lying when she told him she didn’t mind. All her life, she had known her Uncle Bud to be a very kind man and a great father to her favorite cousin. She knew it would crush his heart if the Mystery Shack went under. Since she was sticking around for the summer, she might as well be useful.

And with their new tasks assigned, the cousins downed their breakfast, grabbed their bags and signs, and gave each other their super secret handshake before Gideon followed the rest of the road to the town. Pacifica got to work on hammering nails into trees and before she knew it, it was noon and the sun was beating down on her from the cloudless blue sky.

She wandered a little further into the woods until she found a spot where the trees were packed closely together, creating a cool patch of shade. She took a deep breath and dropped her bag on the ground in front of her before sitting cross-legged in the grass. She fell backwards to lean herself against the tree behind her and-

“Ow!” she yelped, immediately sitting back up and rubbing her head. The impact made the sound of a metallic clang bounce around the trees. Pacifica examined the tree closely and reached out to knock on wood, or rather, what she thought was wood. Again, a hollow metallic sound came from the fake tree.

She ran her hand along the painted bark, which, up close, was chipping away to reveal rusty metal beneath. Upon finding a dip in the tree, Pacifica dug her fingers under the gap and pulled open a small door. Inside the tree was a shelf with a dusty old box sitting upon it. Though she knew she probably shouldn’t touch a mysterious box, Pacifica poked at a little switch. ‘Hidden things are meant to be found,’ she thought as she waited for something to happen.

Several long seconds passed with no reaction from the flipped switch. Disappointed, Pacifica grabbed her backpack and started to leave the clearing. Then, just before she was out of earshot, mechanical whirrs stopped her in her tracks. When she turned towards the noise, she saw a rectangular hole had opened in the ground.

When she peered into the opening, she was excited to see a dusty book waiting for her at the bottom of the pit. She looked around as if she was making sure nobody was watching before reaching down and pulling the book out of its next of cobwebs. She grinned at the six-fingered hand on the front; it may look like just an old book now, but something about the weird design on the cover told Pacifica that it had more weird things to share.

She blew off the thick layer of dust and shoved the book into her bag. She started the walk into town to find Gideon, whistling to herself with a renewed sense of adventure.

-

In front of the library, Gideon was busy taping the Mystery Shack’s flyers to various lampstands and around the building’s wall. Every so often someone would pass by, and though it might not have been true, Gideon felt as if their eyes were glued to him, judging all of his flaws. He pulled his blue pine tree hat down and made sure his hair was as covered as possible.

All he wanted to do was finish hanging the stupid flyers and get home. He hated the feeling of being watched. Back when he was in public school, he was a freak to his classmates. He was the weird “old man” with crazy white hair, or the walking corpse with the deadly white skin, or the short pig with the fat cheeks and upturned nose. Even now, after years of slowly getting taller and losing his baby fat, Gideon still felt like his albino appearance made him freakish in other people’s eyes.

He was inside the library pinning the last flyer to the public bulletin board when two familiar siblings strode past him. They’d never seen him before, but their faces had been all over the town since they moved in. Gideon mentally cursed them for the hit they’d inflicted upon the Shack and more importantly, his dad.

“This dumb book could be anywhere,” the girl huffed, stopping only a few feet away from where Gideon stood. He started to move with more urgency; the last thing he needed right now was the most powerful teens in town spotting his pasty skin.

The girl, Mabel Pines, flipped her long brown hair over her shoulder and crossed her arms, shifting her weight to one leg. Gideon tried not to stare but the twins stuck out like a sore thumb in public, maybe even more than he did. Mabel was wearing a pale blue blazer over a black top and matching leggings. Gideon had no idea how she could withstand the summer heat in that outfit.

Her brother, Mason Pines, wasn’t dressed any more appropriately. He wore a black vest over his own pale blue shirt and black pants. ‘At least his sleeves are rolled up,’ Gideon thought, taking note of how his shirt was rolled to his elbows. He stood straight, his hands forming tight fists at his sides. He held a maroon book in one hand, tucked against his leg.

People stared at them like how they stared at Gideon, but the Pines twins got looks of awe and admiration. He, unlike the proper and pristine siblings, got looks of concern and judgment. He pretended not to notice that he was in everyone’s line of sight as they looked at the twins.

“It’s not some ‘dumb book’, Mabel,” Mason spat coldly. “Ford wants the other two. He’s getting restless.” Gideon heard Mabel make some disgusted noise before the conversation ended. Then, as if he was an animal that could smell fear, Mason slowly walked up behind Gideon, who wanted more than anything to just disappear. “What’s this? The Mystery Shack?”

“Isn’t that the little hovel in the woods with all those ‘freaky creatures’?” Mabel asked with humor in her voice.

“Seems one of them escaped,” Mason snickered. Gideon turned to leave but Mason stepped to the side, blocking his way. Both his body and shadow towered over him. He felt even smaller than usual under Mason’s icy glare. “Give Mr. Gleeful my condolences, will you? I’m sure he’s been mourning the loss of his little tourist trap.”

Gideon kept his head low but peered up to get a clear look at Mason and Mabel’s hard stares and twisted grins. He probably imagined it, but he could’ve sworn Mabel’s eyes looked almost surprised for a second. Mason took the last paper from Gideon’s now sweaty hands and stepped out of his path, urging him along.

“Run home now, little pig,” Mason said. He could feel his eyes watching him, like a wolf stalking its prey.

“Bye, Lil’ Gideon,” Mabel called sweetly, though he couldn’t tell if it was fake or not. He was more concerned about how she knew his name. “Swing by the Tent of Telepathy sometime!”

‘No,’ he thought, picking up his pace. ‘I don’t think I will.’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m excited to get through these setup chapters so I can start the actual plot but hopefully I’ll be updating consistently


	3. The Legend of the Gobblewonker

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Pines twins pay a visit to their least favorite hovel in the woods and find a book that they were not looking for.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mason is being a real twat right now sorry

“Hey! Gid!” Gideon looked up from his feet and saw his cousin wave before jogging up to him with a bright smile on her face. When she saw his downcast face, her smile dropped. “Is something wrong?”

“It’s nothing big, really,” he said. He wasn’t really lying; Mason’s insults were pretty mild and Gideon guessed that he wasn’t using his full jerk power. He didn’t really want to find out. The worst thing about the incident at the library was the way the twins stared him down, picking out his flaws and dwindling him down to nothing. He felt lower than the dirt beneath their expensive leather shoes.

“That sounds like a lie,” Pacifica started, shoving her hands into the pockets of her purple letterman jacket, “but instead of bothering you for answers here, I will bother you at Yumber Jack’s while we enjoy greasy diner food.”

Gideon couldn’t help but smile a little bit. His cousin’s impossibly positive attitude always cheered him up, even if it was only temporary. They were both pretty hungry too, so Yumber Jack’s was the best place he could be while she interrogated him.

They reached the diner and sat at the “counter-bar-thingy”, as Pacifica so eloquently called it. As they waited for their food, Pacifica asked questions while sipping on a birthday cake milkshake. “They seriously wore that in this weather?”

He nodded. They laughed and poked fun at the creepy twins and their matching outfits, but it wasn’t long until she asked again what was bothering him earlier. He turned away to stare at the counter and said, “They just said a few things to me, that’s all.”

“What kinds of things?”

“Typical things. They’re just like everybody else, poking fun at my weight and my height and my hair and- “

“Okay,” Pacifica said quietly, stopping him before he grew too upset. “Okay, Gid. I’m sorry I brought it up. They’re both jerks.” He nodded sadly in agreement and the conversation ended there.

“One stack o’ blueberry pancakes and one club sandwich, anybody? Order twenty-nine?” A large guy in a grease-stained uniform called out the order again before setting the tray down in front of Pacifica and Gideon, who still had his head down. “Yo, I don’t know where Wendy went,” he chuckled, “but I hope this is your order. It is, right?”

Wendy must have been their waitress. From what Pacifica recalled, she didn’t look very happy to be there when she was taking their order. The guy in front of them now seemed a lot friendlier. He suddenly broke out into a goofy grin, saying, “Hey, I’d recognize that hair anywhere! Gideon!”

Gideon’s head was lifted from his arms to peek at the chef. “Soos?”

“Yeah, dude!”

“You work here now?”

“Yeah, dude!” he repeated enthusiastically. It brought a smile to Gideon’s face and Pacifica knew immediately that she could trust this guy. If he was a friend of Gideon’s, he was a friend of hers. “I haven’t seen you in forever. Where have you been?” Soos asked.

“Just around the Shack,” Gideon responded with a shrug. “You know I don’t get out much.” The two of them started a conversation instantly and began to catch up on each other’s lives. Pacifica watched in amazement. She had never seen Gideon socialize so naturally. Then again, Soos wasn’t a very normal, natural person. He was a clumsy nerd. No wonder they got along so well.

“Oh, Soos, this is my cousin, Pacifica,” Gideon said, introducing them. “She’s staying at the Shack with me and Pa for the summer. Paz, this is Soos. He’s been around since my public school days.” Instead of the normal handshake, Soos opted for a fist bump. Pacifica returned the greeting with a smile. This guy was cool.  
“Be right back, dudes, I’m checking out for the end of my shift,” he said. He disappeared back into the kitchen and came back out in a grey mechanic suit and a baseball cap.

“You’re still working at the shop?” Gideon asked.

“Oh, of course. I can’t give that job up,” Soos said casually. “I’m still the school janitor too, but only part-time. I have to come here a lot to cover shifts, and it pays extra.” Pacifica was amazed that he was balancing all those jobs without seeming tired. In fact, he seemed pretty happy with it. Proud, even.

“How’s your abuelita?” Gideon asked. The last word came out awkwardly, like he wasn’t sure he was pronouncing it right.

“She’s recovering great! She stays at home a lot but she cleans and stuff to keep busy,” Soos said. He started telling them stories and updated them on life in town, and the Pines twins were all but forgotten for a good few minutes.

When they were talking about the woods, Pacifica decided it was a good time to bring up what she found earlier that day. She slowly set down the book as if it would crumble to dust if she wasn’t careful. “I found this in the woods today. I haven’t looked in it yet but it was hidden in this hole in the ground that I found by opening a metal tree and - you know what? Let’s just read it.”

She placed her five-fingered hand over the golden six-fingered one on the cover before flipping the book open. The pages were full of detailed illustrations and notes about a whole bunch of different creatures. There were pages of gnomes and zombies and ghosts. Scrawled in black ink were findings on these mystical creatures and sometimes warnings. Pacifica couldn’t believe her eyes.

“Are these real?” she asked, skimming through more pages. “Because if they are, summer just got a lot more interesting.” Soos nodded along.

Gideon stared at the pages triumphantly. He always knew something was off about his hometown. No matter how his father denied it, supernatural beings were living among them. And, living in the woods, Gideon had had more than one sighting of these things. Now he had documented proof of their existence.

Still, he couldn’t shake the feeling that this journal was trouble just waiting to happen. The warnings in the book were ominous and the research ended abruptly, like something had happened to the author. And where else had he seen a journal like this before?

“Paz,” he gasped, “the Pines have a book just like this one! They were looking for a journal earlier and I think this might be the one.”

“So what do we do with it now?” she asked. “From how you described them, it doesn’t sound like they want to do anything good with these journals.”

“Yeah,” he agreed. “I think we should just keep this hidden. Most of the stuff in here looks dangerous anyway. Knowledge like this could do some real harm in those twins’ hands.”

“I have no idea what’s going on,” Soos said, “but I have to be at the shop soon. I’ll catch you dudes later!” They said goodbye and Gideon told him to swing by the Shack someday if he ever found time. With Soos gone, Pacifica and Gideon decided it was about time they headed out too.

Now that she knew what was inside the journal, Pacifica wasn’t sure how to feel. She could barely contain her excitement when she realized she had just found a whole book’s worth of adventures waiting for her. Still, the warnings nagged at the back of her mind and made her birthday cake milkshake turn in her stomach. Knowing that the Pines were actively searching for it didn’t exactly help either, so as they walked back to the woods, Pacifica wrapped her arms around the journal and held it close, as if she was ready to risk her life to protect it.

-

In a dark parlor, Mason Pines sat in a large gray chair, holding the Mystery Shack flyer in one hand. His blue eyes moved lazily from line to line, scanning the details. For the most part, he was uninterested in the special tour the Shack was giving, especially since he’d never want to be caught dead in a lowly place like that anyways. He decided that anything identifying itself as a shack wasn’t worth his time.

It was Mabel that had insisted they go to the tour. She had been bringing it up in every conversation she and Mason shared since they left the library. She threw out every possible excuse to go. She told him they should see their tourist trap rivals before they tore them down and that they should go there to one-up Bud Gleeful at his own event. The most honest reason she had given, however, was that she wanted to see that pasty Gideon boy again.

Mason couldn’t believe she wanted to seek out someone like him. Why she wanted to see that ghastly little squealer again was beyond him, but he finally rolled his eyes and agreed to accompany her, if only to gloat in Bud Gleeful’s territory.

He also agreed to go so he could search for the journal. The Mystery Shack was one of the few places in Gravity Falls that he hadn’t snooped around yet. He set the flyer down on the accent table beside him and lifted a maroon journal from the coffee table with a swipe of his hand. A soft blue glow surrounded the book as he waved it over to him.

Mason placed his left hand over the gold hand on the front cover. He traced the two in the center of the hand and frowned deeply as he remembered that he had yet to find the first one. His right hand gripped his bolo tie as he ran his thumb over the glowing blue stone in the center of it. He felt the magical electricity flow through his hands and up his arms as he held the amulet, the conductor of his power. It still wasn’t enough; he would never grow strong enough if he didn’t locate the other journal.

Finally, with an exasperated sigh, he addressed his sister, who was halfheartedly flicking her wrist and sending darts into the round dartboard on the wall. “Mabel,” he said, “it’s time we pay the Mystery Shack a visit.”

-

The next day, Gideon was shifting uncomfortably and couldn’t stay still for longer than two minutes. He had hoped they wouldn’t show, but just before Bud had started the special summer tour, leather shoes stepped out of an expensive car and landed on Gleeful property. The Pines twins had arrived.

Pacifica had already told him to relax, that she hid the journal somewhere in their shared room where no one but her could find it. Still, the way Mabel was watching him throughout the whole tour was making him sweat. It was like she was trying to read him. It wasn’t nearly as cold as it was yesterday. If he wasn’t so shaken from the way she acted yesterday, he would almost consider it friendly.

Mason, on the other hand, looked absolutely bored. Gideon did notice how his tired eyes moved a lot more, like he was searching for something. He wouldn’t find it here, but Gideon was sure he was keeping an eye out for the journal. He also noticed how Mason’s eyes stopped on Pacifica every so often. He shuddered at the thought of them being together.

Before tourists arrived, Gideon made Pacifica promise not to bring up what happened at the library, especially if the twins came to the Shack. She reluctantly gave him her word, but seeing them in person for the first time was making her blood boil. When the tour ended, she watched the boy twin wander around, apathetically looking at the attractions and occasionally scoffing or rolling his eyes.

Pacifica chatted at the check-out counter with the cashier, her aunt Melody. She was Bud’s cousin and had volunteered to come help out at the Shack over the summer. Melody noticed Pacifica’s annoyed glare and followed her gaze to the Pines boy, who was staring at a rack of t-shirts like they were the worst things he’d ever seen.

“Pretentious jerk,” Pacifica huffed. “He’s probably never seen a normal t-shirt like that before.” Melody made fun of him too and took turns with Pacifica throwing insults to put her at ease. She hated seeing the kids upset, especially since she heard about Gideon’s public school problems.

Pacifica switched the conversation topic and told her about the things she did in town yesterday. She talked about the diner and how Gideon reunited with his friend, Soos. Then, as if he had heard his name, the bell above the gift shop door jingled and Soos walked in wearing his mechanic suit.

“Hey dude,” he greeted Pacifica with a smile. He came up to the counter and asked where Gideon was, but before she got to answer, Melody told him she had seen Gideon giving a tourist the directions to the bathroom.

“I like your jumpsuit,” she giggled.

“Thanks,” he said, “it’s my uniform. I like your shirt.” He pointed at the dark blue question mark on Melody’s shirt.

“Thanks,” she said back, “it’s my uniform too. I’m Melody.” And Pacifica took that as her cue to leave them to their conversation. She grinned at Melody as she backed away and suddenly bumped into someone, stumbling over their feet and her own.

She was about to apologize, but she saw the polished shoes and decided that Mason Pines did not deserve her politeness. “Watch it!” she sneered, dusting herself off and standing back up.

“Excuse me?” he said, leaning closer and locking his blue eyes with her own. Being stared down by him made the temperature in the room feel like it dropped a gazillion degrees.

‘Oops,’ Pacifica thought, ‘I think I just pissed him off.’

“I think you did too,” Mason said in a low voice. “Not a very good way to treat customers, Miss Northwest.” Pacifica’s jaw dropped. How did he know her thoughts? Or her name?

He continued, “I know lots of things. Your favorite color, what you had for breakfast, your fears…”

‘What are you?’ she wanted to ask. Instead, she settled for saying, “Creep.”

“Yeah,” Mason said with a shark-like grin, “something like that.” Pacifica turned on her heel and quickly walked away from him in frustration. She rejoined Melody, who was still chatting with Soos and now Gideon. Mason Pines stood where she left him, keeping his eyes on her. She could feel the glare.

When she glanced at him over her shoulder, he was pretending to be interested in the shelf of snow globes lining the wall.

-

Mabel Pines walked up behind Gideon at the front counter, where he was talking with some gopher man in a baseball cap and the cashier. An angry girl with a blonde ponytail sat on a high chair next to them, leaning both elbows on the counter.

The conversation stopped and Gideon felt Mabel’s powerful presence behind him. She smelled like strong mint gum and it suddenly felt like the room got colder around her.

“Hello again, Lil’ Gideon,” she said. He wished she wouldn’t call him that, but he was too scared to tell her that. Unlike yesterday, there was no edge to her voice. She sounded calm. “How much for this?” she asked, setting down a dark blue book in front of Melody. The cover read, ‘Gleeful’s Guide to the Unexplained’.

The dark question mark on the cover matched the one on Melody’s shirt. Gideon recognized it from the gift shop’s shelves but had never actually read the book, much to his dad’s dismay.

“Sixteen ninety-nine,” Melody said. “Is that all for today?”

Before Mabel could answer, Mason said, “This too.” He added a little snow globe of the Mystery Shack to the counter and Melody rang them up. Pacifica eyed him suspiciously. ‘He probably wants to do some super creepy voodoo magic with that,’ she thought. ‘Maybe fulfill his fantasy of setting the Shack on fire or something.’

As Mabel paid, Mason opened the book to a random page.

“Hey, that looks like the jour- ow!” Gideon swiftly elbowed Pacifica in the side to shut her up. She bit her tongue and remembered their secret.

“What was that, Miss Northwest?” Mason asked, looking up at her.

“Nothing,” she said just a little too quickly. It definitely was not suspicious at all.

“Right,” he muttered. He read from the book, “‘The Legend of the Gobblewonker’. Who would actually believe this stuff? Tourists, am I right?” Mabel snorted at his joke-like statement. Mason was not one for jokes.

“The only monster in these woods is you,” Pacifica said quietly. Nobody seemed to hear her, but if they did, they didn’t react. The only person to do so was Mason himself, who locked eyes with her again and reached into her mind. She was thinking about blueberry pancakes. And the goat she had seen in the woods that morning. And the journal she had found in the woods the day before.

‘Wait, what?’ Mason focused a little more and realized something shocking, and not many things were shocking to him. This annoyingly bright girl with the blonde ponytail and the rubber bracelets had found what he spent months looking for.

“Let’s go, Mabel,” he said. She gave Gideon an almost-sweet smile and a wave before picking up the book, which did look like a cheap blue copy of the journal. Pacifica had thought about that too.

The four friends watched the Pines twins leave the shop, radiating power as they kept their heads up and eyes straight. Maybe she was imagining it, but Pacifica could’ve sworn Mason gave her one last glare before disappearing out the door. She shuddered at the fresh memory of Mason’s eyes on her, staring at her from above as she picked herself off the ground.

She was expecting him to be cold and rude, just like Gideon said, and he was. But now that she’d met him, she couldn’t shake the feeling that he was just as dangerous as he was cold. That boy knew something he wasn’t supposed to.

In the car, Mason half-heartedly shook his new snow globe. He watched the little white dots slosh around in the water and float back down to the miniature Mystery Shack. He could only think about Pacifica Northwest and how he was going to pry that journal out of her hands. She would undoubtedly put up a fight, just like she had done in the gift shop. Not many people, especially girls their age, would do that.

“That Northwest girl is interesting,” he said. Mabel looked up from the copy of Gleeful’s Guide. She replied with a distracted nod.

“That Lil’ Gideon is interesting too,” she laughed.

Mason rolled his eyes. “Not interesting like that, Mabel.” Though, when he thought about it, Pacifica wouldn’t be the worst person in the world to be ‘interested’ in…

He shook the thought from his mind and said, “She has the journal.”

That got Mabel’s attention. She looked over the familiar format of the book in her lap. “She’s probably responsible for this.” Mason nodded in agreement.

“I think we’ll be paying Miss Northwest a few more visits,” he said, looking out the window as the gift shop grew further and further away. “I need that journal.”

“You can busy yourself with her, but I’ll be spending my time visiting with Gideon Gleeful.” Mason rolled his eyes for what must have been the millionth time that day. If his sister wanted to chase after a pig, that was fine with him. He was too busy chasing after the book that would give him more power than he might be able to handle.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Maybe another chapter tonight...? Who knows...


	4. Headhunters

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mason watches Pacifica melt a man alive and realizes that getting the journal from her might be more fun than he thought.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> is this story moving too slow? i'm not sure, i feel like i should be getting to the relationship stuff sooner but :/ anyways Mason is getting more and more confused

“Come one, come all, folks!” Bud Gleeful said, cheerfully greeting the crowd of tourists filing into the Mystery Shack’s newest attraction. He looked over his shoulder and Melody gave him a thumbs-up. The jar he had set out for tips was filling up even quicker than he hoped for. Those tips, coupled with the admission payments, should be enough to cover grocery costs for the rest of the month.

‘This was a good idea,’ he thought. Nothing could go wrong with the creepy lifelike wax statues sitting inside his home, right?

Wrong.

Gideon was freaked out from the second his dad wheeled those shiny monstrosities into the house. Every time he walked past the open door in the hallway, he sped up to avoid the statues’ blank stares. He could’ve sworn he saw Sherlock Holmes walking around the room last night when he got up to get some water, but Pacifica laughed and said all that journal nonsense was getting to his head.

It had been a few days since she found the journal and thankfully the Pines twins hadn’t come back to search for it since their tour. Gideon was back to shutting himself inside his room to hide from the tourists, which gave him more than enough time to read it front to back. He’d gone through every entry and was both amazed and scared of the monsters he saw.

Pacifica had read it cover to cover as well. As soon as she finished it, she wanted to grab her backpack and the grappling hook she took from the gift shop and head out on a wild summer adventure. Gideon, however, refused to come along. He was perfectly content with reading about what was in the woods, knowing that if he encountered these monsters head-on he’d probably die of a heart attack.

She stopped pestering him about it, but Pacifica still longed to run around and hunt for monsters. Not that she’d actually hunt them, of course, as she saw that inhumane and unnecessary. It was just a fun way to spend her time. She even considered starting a journal of her own. So far, the only monster she’d logged in her journal was a doodle of Mason Pines with a lizard tail, devil horns, and flames surrounding him.

She hated his stupid blue eyes and his stupid blue clothes and his creepy mind-reading habits. The only thing she hated more was the fact that she couldn’t stop thinking about him since their brief interaction in the gift shop.

While Gideon stayed in their room in the attic, Pacifica helped around the Shack. She was busy telling tourists creepy (made up) stories about wax Lizzie Borden when she saw a familiar blue figure enter the room in her peripheral vision. She scowled at Mason Pines, who hadn’t seen her in the room yet.

She excused herself from the family she was talking to and tried to sneak behind wax Larry King and wax Sherlock Holmes. She almost made it out the door when she felt a hand tug on the back of her shirt, turning her around. To no surprise, Mason was standing behind her, but not close enough to actually reach her. ‘How did he-?’

“There you are, Miss Northwest,” he said. “Why is it that every time I see you, it’s in this oversized outhouse?”

“I live here, genius,” she snapped. “I’m staying with my uncle.” She knew he’d probably find out on his own anyway, so she saw no point in hiding something like that. “Why is it that every time I see you, you’re wearing something that’s not at all appropriate for summer?” Mason was wearing all black this time, from his suit jacket to his pants to his shoes. The only color on his outfit was that of a blue gemstone beneath his collar, held there by his bolo tie.

He stepped closer and Pacifica started to freak out again. “Would you prefer me without my clothes?” Mason looked dead serious.

Pacifica freaked out even more, if that was possible. That was the worst possible thing that he could’ve said, right above ‘I found your journal’. She turned away and tried not to let him see her face, which was definitely not red and definitely not getting super hot.

“Why are you here?” she asked, tugging at the multitude of bright rubber bracelets on her wrists. She wasn’t expecting Mason to show up again, but now that he was here, she didn’t doubt for a second that he was up to no good.

“Can’t I look at some wax figures without being interrogated?” he asked with an innocent tone. She noticed he was being a lot more laid back. For Mason’s standards, at least. “I’m hurt, doll. Since we met all you’ve ever done is sneer at me.”

“Don’t call me that!” Pacifica snapped, “And maybe if you showed my cousin some respect then I’d do the same for you.” She wasn’t supposed to bring up the library incident, but it was too late to take back what she said. At least Gideon wasn’t around to hear.

“Your cousin?” Mason seemed to process this for a second. “The pig boy?”

“He has a name!”

“Gideon Gleeful?” He remembered her saying Bud was her uncle too. “You’re related to that?” Mason punctuated his question with a scowl.

“What is your problem with him?” Pacifica asked, clearly irritated.

“He’s weird.”

“And you’re not?” Mason shrugged at her question and looked up at the ceiling. Nobody has ever dared to question him or even talk to him in this manner. He hated admitting to himself that he was actually entertained by this girl. He didn’t show it, opting instead for the most casual attitude he could have.

Pacifica thought this boy was insufferable. She observed how his hands were shoved in his jacket pockets and looked up at his unreturned gaze. What was he playing at? He was a lot more talkative and relaxed compared to his rude, uninterested attitude from the other day.

“I’m not playing at anything,” he said. Pacifica realized that he had made eye contact again. When did he get so close? She could smell mint.

“What- will you stop that? How are you doing that?” she asked, raising her voice. He shrugged indifferently again and, frustrated, Pacifica reached up and shoved him away so she could get past.

“Wait,” he said, grabbing her wrists before she pulled away. ‘What am I doing?’ he thought before realizing that he almost felt something close to panic. No one makes Mason Pines panic and gets away with it. This was totally part of his plan to get the journal.

“What?” Pacifica sighed angrily. Mason took a second to really look at her face, not just into her eyes and mind. Her little nose twitched in annoyance and she squinted at him through deep blue eyes with specks of violet in them. And were those… freckles? Yes, light freckles dusted her pale skin.

‘Adorable. I mean- ‘

“Let’s go out for lunch.” The statement was so abrupt and unlike him that it even caught him off-guard. Pacifica’s anger melted away into shock. He loosened his grip on her wrist and she relaxed a bit.

“Is that a request?” she asked.

“Consider it an apology,” he said, clenching his teeth. This was absurd. Apologizing wasn’t like him at all. The words coming out of his mouth felt foreign. “I think we got off on the wrong foot.”

Pacifica considered this for a while, analyzing Mason suspiciously. He didn’t appear sketchy, aside from his all-black outfit. Maybe they did get off on the wrong foot. Besides, it was Pacifica that snapped at him first in the gift shop.

“I’ll accept your apology,” she said, “but only if you promise you won’t pull any of that creepy mind-reading magic crap again.”

Mason clenched his teeth impossibly hard. This weird, rubber-bracelet-loving girl has him making promises now? He nodded and forced himself to say, “That’s fair.”

“Promise?”

“...I promise.”

She gave him an obnoxiously bright smile and all previous anger seemed to be forgotten. “Alrighty then, pretty boy, give me five minutes and meet me in the gift shop.”

He pretended not to notice the nickname. He also pretended it didn’t make him smile.

-

“You’re doing what?” Gideon practically screeched.

“I’m having lunch,” Pacifica said with a shrug.

“With him! The Pines boy!” Pacifica nodded for the umpteenth time, seemingly fine with this. It was driving Gideon mad. “Do you not see the problem here?”

“Gid,” she sighed, standing up and slinging her purple backpack over her shoulder, “he’s trying to apologize. I’m trying to give him a chance.”

“But Paz, what about the journal?” His voice dropped to a whisper, as if Mason could hear him from downstairs. “He might be trying to gain your trust to get it.”

“He doesn’t know we have it,” she said. She sounded a lot more confident than she felt. The last time she’d seen Mason, she couldn’t shake the feeling that he knew something he wasn’t supposed to. Still, she didn’t want Gideon to freak out. “And if he is just using me, I’ll kick his ass.”

That and her confident smile calmed him down a bit. Pacifica was a lot stronger than she looked. If anything did happen, Gideon trusted that she’d be able to take care of herself. “Okay,” he said. With that, Pacifica was out the door and down the stairs, ready for the day’s adventure.

-

Pacifica and Mason looked very unnatural in their booth at the Yumber Jack’s diner. The town celebrity had already attracted some weird looks, not because of his dark attire, but because of the girl with him. On one side of the table was dark and brooding Mason Pines, who was studying his company and giving her intense stares. On the other side was Pacifica Northwest, the new girl in town who couldn’t sit still for more than a minute and who wore a white tank top, black shorts, and about a million neon bracelets.

Everything about the day was weird, from the girl sharing his booth to the way Mason had been acting to the very setting they were in. He felt so unnatural here; he’d never been to a diner before, let alone with an eccentric girl like Pacifica. The fact that he was even here was yet another way this girl surprised him. It was his fault for letting her pick the location.

“What’s wrong, pretty boy? Not fancy enough for you?” she asked teasingly.

“It’s… fine. I’m just out of my element, that’s all,” he said truthfully. He forced himself to not react to the name again.

“What’s your element, anyways?” Pacifica asked. “Are you a vampire or a professional emo or…?”

Mason laughed at that. It felt weird. “It’s just how I’ve always been. I dress similarly for my shows.”

“Shows?”

He raised an eyebrow at her. Did she really not know who he was? “You know,” he started, “the Tent of Telepathy? Me and Mabel, psychic twins?” She nodded like she understood, but one look into her blue eyes told him she wasn’t aware. “Wow, you really don’t know.”

“I’m sorry!” she laughed nervously. “I thought you guys were just super rich or something. I knew people knew who you were but I didn’t know what for.”

“You should come by the Tent someday,” he said. “I’ve got a few tricks I want to show you, doll.” ‘Smooth,’ he complimented himself.

“I told you not to call me that!” she said, hiding her face in her hands. The sight entertained him.

“So you can call me ‘pretty boy’ but I can’t call you ‘doll’? That hardly seems fair.” Pacifica didn’t respond to this. Mason chalked it up as a minor victory. “Anywho,” he trailed, sliding a card out of his pocket and across the table, “if you come see the show, I’m sure I can get you a good seat.”

Pacifica took the card and looked at it quizzically, reading the address printed in silver text. “I have a better idea,” she said. She took a purple gel pen from her backpack and wrote her phone number on the back before sliding it back over to Mason. “Let me know when I should swing by.”

He took the card and looked back and forth between the glittery purple numbers and Pacifica’s contagious smile. It was so contagious, in fact, that he accidentally let his own smile show.

“Woah,” she gasped in mock surprise, “is that a smile on pretty boy’s face?” He rolled his eyes playfully and let his smile linger for a while longer.

“Enjoy it while it lasts, doll,” he said.

“I bet I could make it last a lot longer,” she said confidently, leaning over the table to reach him. Mason didn’t know what to do, but he didn’t lean away. Then, once she was so close that he could smell bubblegum and marshmallows, she poked his nose lightly and giggled, falling back into her seat.

‘What just happened?’

Despite his confusion, Mason couldn’t help but smile again. He felt so weird.

“So,” she started again, “psychic twins?”

“Yep,” he said, relaxing into his seat. “We’ve been doing the act since we were twelve.”

“It doesn’t seem like just an act,” Pacifica said. Her nose scrunched up as she remembered Mason’s habit of reading her mind. “Are your powers real?”

“Would you believe me if I said yes?”

“I mean, I did experience it firsthand,” she said.

“Most people don’t believe in magic. Especially not in Gravity Falls.”

“They believe it enough to come to your shows.” Good point. “And you’d be surprised how much magic you can find in Gravity Falls.” Mason raised an eyebrow at this and suddenly remembered why he was here in the first place. Pacifica quickly looked out the window, as if she had said too much. If he wasn’t sure before, his suspicions were confirmed now. He needed to get that journal.

“Anywho,” she said, drawing out the ‘ooh’ and drawing circles on the table with her finger, “is that gemstone thingy part of your getup?”

Mason’s hand instinctively reached up for his tie to grab the gem, as if to protect it. “It’s just important to me, that’s all. Mabel has one too.” He was starting to tell Pacifica too much, but it was like he couldn’t stop once he started. “Our parents gave it to us before they left us in Gravity Falls with our Great Uncle Stan.”

“Where’d they go?”

“Away,” he said. Pacifica decided it was best to leave it at that. She was already surprised that Mason had told her that much. A few moments of silence passed before he asked, “What’s yours for? That necklace, I mean.”

“Oh, this?” Pacifica held up the amber-colored crystal pendant around her neck. It was shaped into a small llama. “This one’s from my parents too. They’re tree huggers,” she laughed. “They like exploring and nature and stuff, so they sent me this during their last trip.”

“Where are they now?” Mason asked.

“Gone on another trip,” she said. “I think they’re in Peru this time. I asked them to leave me with my uncle instead of in the manor with the nanny. I’m too old for a babysitter and it gets lonely in Seattle.”

Northwest? Manor in Seattle? Mason was beginning to put the pieces together. “You’re that Northwest?” he asked, surprised yet again. “Priscilla and Preston’s daughter?” Pacifica only shrugged, like her parents weren’t famous explorers and eco-friendly scientists.

This girl was just shock after shock after shock. Mason mouthed another ‘wow’ as it sank in that he was having lunch with the Northwest daughter, who dressed like a human glow stick. He never would have guessed that Pacifica was a millionaire. Not that he was starstruck or anything. Mason Pines did not get starstruck. Then again, he didn’t smile until today either…

All throughout lunch they were talking and throwing out sarcastic remarks about each other’s clothes and families and weird personalities. Mason had never felt so at ease with someone before. Thoughts of stealing the journal were soon forgotten as Pacifica laughed at the unnaturally fancy way he ate greasy diner food.

-

In the late afternoon, Mason walked Pacifica back to the Shack. On the way there, he started thinking about the journal again, which was bringing down his unusually cheery mood. How was he supposed to take it from her? He walked a few paces behind her and watched her ponytail swish back and forth in time with her bouncy steps. She was humming some upbeat song that he didn’t recognize.

This wasn’t part of the plan. What was his plan again? All he remembered was deciding that he needed to find her again so he could steal the journal. None of that included a last-minute lunch outing with Pacifica Northwest. Maybe he intended to take it by force. Yes, that sounded right. He was going to find her and maybe threaten to drop her off a cliff or throw her around until she told him the journal’s whereabouts. But how could he do that now?

“Mason,” she said, stopping in her tracks, “we’re back.” The Mystery Shack stood before them with its rickety wooden boards and lopsided sign. The last busload of tourists pulled out of the parking lot and disappeared down the road they just came from. Bud and Gideon weren’t in sight, but Pacifica was sure Gideon could see them from the triangle window at the top of the house.

“Well,” he said slowly, “I uh…”

“You what?” Pacifica asked. This was awkward. He spent the whole day with her and didn’t get any closer to getting his hands on the journal.

“I, uh,” he stammered, “I think I dropped my keys somewhere in the wax museum.” He looked away sheepishly, unable to meet her eyes, and Pacifica thought he was embarrassed.

“The museum is closed right now but I can go in and take a look if you want,” she said. Mason thanked her and watched her light hair disappear through the door. Now that she was gone he could breathe. He was stalling; how could he convince Pacifica to give up the journal? He was thinking of possible plans that didn’t involve beating the journal out of her when he heard a scream and a crash inside the Shack.

“What the hell?” he muttered, running over to the door. He shouldn’t be intruding on the Gleeful residence after visitor hours, but the scream sounded like Pacifica’s, and he needed her alive. To find the journal, of course.

To his surprise, the Gleeful family was nowhere to be found. If they were inside the Shack, they weren’t in any rush to find the source of the scream. Mason ran down the hall to the door that led to the mini museum. The orange light in the room poured into the hall and two shadows could be seen on the floor, struggling against each other.

“Stupid girl!” cried a male voice with a strong British accent. “Your uncle trapped us here to be gawked at like animals!” Mason watched Pacifica get thrown to the ground. The wax Sherlock Holmes stood over her intimidatingly, holding a fire iron in one smooth hand. “And stop turning on that terrible light!” he shrieked.

Mason turned and pressed his back against the wall just outside of the door frame. He heard someone, most likely Pacifica, hit the wall behind him, followed by a pained grunt. The light switched off and the sound of Pacifica yelling made some weird feeling bubble up in Mason’s gut. He stepped into the doorway to help her and squinted into the darkness. He could make out multiple wax statues shuffling around, all towering over the girl in the middle.

Mason could barely see her through the pack of bodies, but several figures stumbled back as she kicked them. He remembered Sherlock’s upset tone when he mentioned the light, so Mason slammed his hand against the switch and revelled in the wax people’s stressed groans. “Hey,” he said with a sneer, “come and get me, you oversized candles!”

‘Candles! Of course!’ Pacifica thought. Some of the statues went to attack Mason and she mentally thanked him for coming to help her and for giving her an idea. She shoved past Lizzie Borden and Robin Hood and slid on her knees to get to the dying fireplace. She picked up a fire iron on the ground and held it to the dying flame, letting it sit there until the sharp end began to glow.

The light flickered on and off as Mason fought Edgar Allen Poe. He grabbed Mason’s wrist and tugged him forward, but Mason retaliated by flicking his other wrist, sending the poet across the room and into the group of figures. They toppled like bowling pins.

Mason looked over to where Pacifica was slicing through Robin Hood’s torso with a glowing iron stick. ‘Smart girl,’ he thought to himself, fighting back a smirk. He held out his hand and another iron became surrounded with a pale blue glow, matching the one surrounding his gemstone. He brought the stick to him and got to work on hacking down the recovering wax people.

Soon there was only one enemy left: Sherlock Holmes. He twisted Pacifica’s wrist around, trying to wrench the iron out of her grasp, but she drove her knee into his stomach and swung her leg around, knocking him off his feet. Pacifica let out a battle cry as she stabbed the point into a small piece of firewood, drawing it out and shoving it into Sherlock’s face. He screeched in agony as the features of his face disappeared into a steaming pile of goo.

“Jesus,” Mason mumbled, borderline amazed. It was kind of terrifying to watch Pacifica be so aggressive, especially after watching her consume enormous amounts of sugar and giggle for hours afterwards. He decided it was a good kind of terrifying.

Once Sherlock’s screams ceased, Pacifica threw the fire iron back to its spot near the brick fireplace and shook her hands. “Sorry,” she laughed, “that got me a little jittery.”

Mason walked over and started dumping bodies into the flames using his gemstone’s telekinetic abilities. Pacifica stood with her hands on her hips, heaving from exhaustion. Now that she wasn’t busy beating wax to death, she could properly observe Mason’s magic.

“So I guess your show really isn’t just an act, huh?” Mason only nodded in response. He wanted to wait until she came to a show to surprise her with his powers, but after all the ways she had surprised him that day, he figured now was as good a time as any. Pacifica let out another tired laugh and shook her head. “You are full of surprises, Mason Pines.”

“So are you,” he replied, clearing the last of the bodies. He walked over and stood only a few inches away from Pacifica, looking down to meet her eyes. “I feel like you have more surprises in store for me, Miss Northwest.” He tried to harden his glare, hoping to intimidate her into telling him what he wanted.

“Come around more often and find out, pretty boy,” she replied with a sly grin. When he looked into her mind, all he could hear was her calling him a dork. She poked his nose again and said, “Come on, I’ll walk you out.”

They went back out to the porch just as a shiny car pulled up. Gideon hopped out of the car with gelled back hair and a baby blue suit. He looked shaken. Inside the car, Mabel Pines called to her brother with a wide grin on her face.

“I guess that’s my cue to leave,” Mason said. He was disappointed that he hadn’t gotten the journal, but strangely, the day didn’t feel like a complete waste. For what seemed like the first time this summer, Mason had… fun.

“Hey,” Pacifica said softly, “thanks for lunch. And for helping me out back there.” There was another surprise; Mason had never done anything for someone that warranted thanks. He smiled at her, this time with no hints of sarcasm or malice.

“No problem, doll,” he said, walking out to the car. He heard her huff behind him and smirked. Maybe, in time, he could get that journal from her without throwing her off a cliff. Maybe she could trust him enough to give it up willingly.

To Mason, that was a much preferred alternative.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i think it shows by now that this is gonna be more dipcifica-centric but next chapter will be more mabel and gideon :)


	5. The Hand that Rocks the Mabel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mabel takes her Lil' Gideon out for a much needed self-confidence boost.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> is it okay so far? sorry if i'm taking long to update

Mabel rested her chin on her hand and stared out the window, away from her brother. He was droning on about his dumb journal and the girl that he couldn’t seem to shut up about since their first visit to the Mystery Shack. Though, to be fair, she couldn’t stop thinking about her Lil’ Gideon since they met either.

There was nothing about him that people deemed special. At least, not in a positive way. There were dozens of other positively special boys that wanted Mabel’s attention, but she had her mind on the little weirdo with crazy white hair.

“Mabel,” Mason called. “Mabel!” She snapped out of her thoughts and turned to face him, clearly annoyed.

“What?” she snapped.

“We’re here,” he snarled. “Go find your prince. Maybe if you kiss him he’ll turn human.” Mabel rolled her eyes at his tactless insult and got out of the car, slamming the door behind her. She smoothed out her blue blazer and brushed off her tights. She wanted to look as perfect as she always did.

Once in the public eye, she gave her sweetest smiles and waved at fans. Just because Mason gave everyone the cold shoulder didn’t mean she had to do the same. In fact, she thought their opposite behaviors gave them a more mysterious aura. Mabel was the town darling. She had everyone wrapped around her ring-clad finger.

The twins split up. Mabel had no interest in the Northwest girl or the journal and she didn’t want Mason around when she found Gideon. He’d just scare him off again. She entered the gift shop in search of her tiny white knight.

After scanning the shop and walking around, she went up to the woman at the counter. “Excuse me, Miss,” she said to the familiar cashier, “would you happen to know if one Gideon Gleeful is around?”

The lady fiddled with her dark blonde ponytail. Mabel didn’t need to read her mind to know that she was making her uncomfortable, which, to someone like Mabel, was kind of insulting. “I think he’s upstairs but I doubt he’ll come down.”

Mabel put on her best pout and said, “Why not?”

“He’s not a big people person,” she replied. She took one look at Mabel’s disappointed face and quickly added, “I could try calling him down for you though.”

‘Perfect,’ Mabel thought, slowly smiling. ‘Glad to know I turned your mind around, Miss Melody.’ Just another townsperson that she’d won over. Melody told her she’d be back, leaving the counter.

As Melody left, Mason entered the shop and joined his sister at the counter. He looked strained and… kind of sweaty. ‘That’s new,’ Mabel thought, raising an eyebrow.

“You found her?” she asked.

“Yes,” he replied through clenched teeth. “I invited her out for lunch.”

Mabel scoffed. “I figured,” she said. “You look clammier than usual. Didn’t expect a date, did you?”

“Shut up,” he snapped. “Did you find him?”

“That cashier is getting him for me,” she said with a victorious tone. Mason rolled his eyes at her smug grin. He knew Mabel was the town darling but didn’t understand what was so fulfilling about having common folks’ approval. The most beneficial thing he could think of was that of the town’s support and unwavering adoration. It was what kept them from being questioned about their mysterious mansion overlooking the town.

Of course, there were always a few people that did the opposite. Small-time reporters like Sandra Jimenez liked pestering them whenever they were spotted in public. Every time the twins were doing anything, it was sure to be in the crappy local paper the next morning, no matter how mundane it was. These sniveling townsfolk lapped up whatever was at the Pines’ feet. Mason scowled at the thought.

The bell above the door chimed and Pacifica waved Mason over with a smile. “Have fun on your date, brother,” Mabel teased. He huffed and left with the walking neon disaster. He looked even more out of place at the girl’s side. Even if he had the ability to, Mason was not one for dating. Mabel was sure he’d make out with his stupid journal before he kissed a real girl.

After several long minutes of waiting, Melody came back with a sickly pale boy in tow. “Here he is,” she said, urging him to say hello. “Sorry, my nephew’s not one for conversation.” She ended her sentence with a nervous chuckle and left them alone, returning to her work behind the register.

“We meet again, Lil’ Gideon,” she chirped cheerfully.

“It seems so,” he mumbled, avoiding her gaze. “Did you need something?” 

This made Mabel frown. He sounded so uncomfortable around her, which was the absolute opposite of what she wanted and what she was used to. First Melody, now Gideon. Was everyone in the Gleeful family bothered by her presence?

“I just wanted to apologize for the way my brother and I acted in the library,” she explained. That wasn’t entirely true, but she knew he’d be less likely to turn down a hangout if she called it an apology.

“Oh, well, apology accepted then.” Gideon felt his hands get sweaty. He wanted to get out of there and away from Mabel as fast as possible. He’d already buried the library incident in the back of his mind, he didn’t need her to come back and remind him about it.

He turned to leave, but Mabel stopped him in his tracks by saying, “Gideon Gleeful, I’d like it very much if you’d come to the mall with me.” She sounded confident, but inside she was panicking about his hasty attempt to depart.

‘What?’ Gideon thought, sweating even more. ‘Oh no, no, no, no- ‘

“Please?” she added, dragging out the word. “It’d make me the happiest girl on earth.” Gideon looked over his shoulder to his aunt for help. Melody shrugged and gestured at Mabel behind her back, seemingly saying, ‘Why not?’ This was the same Mabel Pines that had bullied him in town the other day. He already disliked being in public, and he could list about a billion other reasons to turn Mabel down.

Looking at her wide puppy eyes and pouty bottom lip made it damn near impossible to turn her down. He bit back a sigh and said, “Sure…?”

The puppy eyes disappeared immediately and were replaced with a grin and an excited squeal. Mabel grabbed his warm, sweaty hand and practically dragged him outside to the car. ‘God,’ Gideon thought, ‘I hope she’s not kidnapping me.’

-

Gideon regretted his choice as soon as they arrived at the mall. The ride there wasn’t too bad. Mabel hit him with question after question, all very casual and light enough so that he wasn’t upset by them. She chose the conversation topics carefully.

However, what little comfort he felt was squandered by the sight of crowds moving in and out of the mall. He wished he didn’t agree to this hangout. Mabel Pines, her unique outfit, and her fame attracted even more attention than he was used to. He hadn’t expected to step out today either, so he wasn’t exactly dressed for the occasion. Next to Mabel, he looked and felt like an awkward, lost kid.

“You ready?” she asked excitedly, already standing outside the car. Gideon’s distraught expression brought another frown to her face. “Hey, Gideon, it’s not that bad, I promise.”

He took another moment to calm his nerves and nodded before stepping out himself. It took only a few seconds for people to start staring, but Mabel took his hand and quickly pulled him into the mall, giving him no time to worry too much. The inside was just as suffocating and overwhelming as he remembered.

“So, Lil’ Gideon, what do you want to do first?” Mabel’s enthusiasm remained unphased.

He didn’t exactly answer her question, instead trying to reason with her. “Mabel, I appreciate the hangout and all, but I’m not exactly dressed to be around you.” He hung his head down in shame and stared at his ratty shoes.

“Oh, Gideon,” she cooed, “I don’t care how you dress. You’re adorable either way.” He felt his face heat up at that comment. “But, if it would make you feel more comfortable around me, we could go get you some new clothes.”

He hesitantly obliged and let Mabel drag him into a fancy shop with velvet chairs and carpet. It was empty with the exception of a silent, almost robotic assistant and cashier standing in the back. Gideon appreciated the colder, emptier space. He breathed in the scent of clean linen and cotton.

Mabel moved at such a quick pace with everything she did. She shifted through jackets and vests on circular clothing racks and rocket speed, like she was running on a hundred cups of caffeine. Gideon watched her jump from place to place, moving around her perfect, long brown hair and somehow clicking her heels on the carpet as she walked. Why was she doing this? Why was she being so nice to him? Was this really just to make it up to him for their first interaction?

Gideon had too many questions on his mind. He pushed them aside and tried to relax. Nobody was in here but him and Mabel, so he was out of the public eye. Mabel was jumpy and scarily hyper, but she was being a lot nicer than before. Why not try to enjoy this?

She tossed armfuls of suits and fabrics to him and ushered him into the fitting room. Gideon came out of the room with a maroon suit awkwardly hanging off his arms. Mabel sent him back to change and he did, over and over and over again until he came out with a loose-fitting baby blue suit. She squealed, delighted, and had him stand on a platform in front of three large mirrors. She had the assistant lady come out and tailor the suit to fit him exactly.

Gideon stood completely still and tried not to sweat while pins were poked into his sides. In the mirror, he could see Mabel gushing over the “adorable little outfit” (her words, not his) and decided not to ruin this for her. It did feel kind of nice to be wearing something other than a ratty t-shirt and cargo shorts. Soon enough, he had eased into the suit and sheepishly thanked Mabel for paying for it. He was too scared to ask how much it cost.

Mabel then took him to a hair salon, where he was able to relax while he got his head massaged and his hair washed. Much to his surprise, the preppy gossips at the salon praised his stark white hair and badgered him with compliments. For once, Gideon was able to smile when talking about his hair.

When they had lunch in the food court, Gideon was finally relaxed. He hardly noticed the people sitting around them, staring at the pristine Mabel Pines as she hung out with a common boy dressed in a blue suit that he could not afford.

“Thanks for everything today, Mabel,” he said, taking a sip of his strawberry-banana smoothie. “Honestly, I didn’t think I’d enjoy this as much as I did.”

“I’m glad you did, pumpkin,” she said. Gideon blushed at the nickname but didn’t comment on it. “I really don’t know what it is about you, Lil’ Gideon, that keeps me so captivated. You’re so different.”

“Is that a good thing?” he asked.

“Of course!” Looking at her soft expression, Gideon realized just how genuine she was being. He’d heard stories about Mabel Pines from other boys and girls his age that came around the Shack. They talked about how fake she was or how she toyed with people’s emotions, but Gideon didn’t see that right now.

“Usually when people talk about my differences, it ain’t a good thing,” he said. “I don’t really step out like this.”

“What do you mean ‘it ain’t a good thing’? Your differences are the most adorable thing about you,” she said dramatically.

“They don’t think so,” he mumbled. “Quite the opposite, actually.”

Mabel noticed the sadness on his face and did her best to cheer him up. “‘They’ don’t know what they’re talking about. They obviously don’t know amazing when they see it.”

“I guess so,” Gideon said. He sounded unconvinced, but Mabel didn’t push it further than that. “Your brother is one of them.”

She scowled immediately. It wasn’t a very natural look on her. It was scary, even. “Mason’s got a few issues that he’s sorting out. Ignore him, he’s not a people person.”

“I’m not either.”

“Yeah, but you’re a nice not-a-people-person. Mason’s an asshole.”

This was surprising to Gideon. “I figured y’all got along, with your whole show and telepathy twin thing.”

“He’s an asshole, but he’s also my brother. And my partner. I bet you’d be able to see our tension during the shows.” The scowl softened into a frown. “Now that I think about it, I don’t recall seeing you at any of our shows!”

Gideon started sweating nervously again. “Well- “

“GIdeon Gleeful!” she gasped, standing up and theatrically slamming both hands on the table, “You absolutely must come see me perform!” People were starting to stop in their tracks and stare again.

Gideon nodded quickly so she’d sit down. Agreeing to come to one of her crazy (and probably fake - it was a tourist trap, after all) performances meant he’d have to go on another outing, but he wasn’t entirely opposed to the idea. He promised to swing by sometime, and Mabel sat down, back to her normal flirty self.

When she took her seat, Gideon started telling her all about his dad and the Mystery Shack. As he rambled, she looked into his gray eyes and tried to read what he was thinking. It was cluttered in his thoughts; he was thinking about his dad, his home, and how nervous he still was. But, in the back of his mind, he was thinking about how hanging out with Mabel was not at all as bad as he thought. In the back of his mind, he thought she was actually a cool person.

Mabel’s stomach was doing flips as she mentally cheered. ‘Mission accomplished,’ she thought.

-

Back at the Shack, Mabel gave Gideon a tight hug before letting him out of the car. When she opened the door, she saw her angry brother on the porch, looking… not angry. He almost looked happy, talking to Pacifica. She said goodbye to her Lil’ Gideon and called her brother, who said something to Pacifica that made her cross her arms. Even from far away, Mabel could see her face redden.

Once the car door was closed, Mabel said, “Those cousins really are something, huh?” Mason simply nodded. They made eye contact and found that both of their minds were racing with thoughts of what happened earlier that day.

Though they felt happy on the ride home, the foreign feeling quickly disappeared when they entered the large doors of their quiet mansion. Mabel shivered at the sudden drop in temperature. Somehow, it was always so much colder in here. She went upstairs to her room, leaving Mason in the foyer.

He was about to do the same when he heard a small voice address him. “Welcome home, Mister Pines,” said a tall but skinny man in a pale blue butler’s suit. “Your Great Uncle Ford requests your presence in his study.”  
“Thank you, Will,” Mason said through clenched teeth. His visits with the stern old man never ended well. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d seen Ford smile. Will disappeared in a cloud of blue smoke and was standing outside the door of the study when Mason arrived.

“You’re home,” Ford said, not turning his seat around to face Mason.”

“Yes.”

“Where’s the journal?” he asked. His voice changed slightly, almost unnoticeably, and became distorted. After several moments with no response, Ford slowly turned his seat around. “Where is it, boy?” he asked again.

One look into Mason’s blue eyes told him the disappointing truth.

“You don’t have it?” he asked, though it really wasn’t a question. His voice started to grow louder, and Mason braced himself for what was about to happen. “You’ve spent weeks gallivanting around that peasant town and you still haven’t found it! What are you doing?” Ford pulled Mason’s thoughts from his subconscious. Unlike how Mason and Mabel read what someone was currently thinking, Ford was able to painfully pull thoughts from any part of the mind.

He skimmed through the day’s events and stopped at the memory of Mason and Pacifica at the diner. Mason saw the image of Pacifica sitting across from him reflected in Ford’s eyes. His head started to throb.

“This is what you’ve been wasting your time on?” Ford asked in disgust. He reached further for an explanation before a look of realization settled on his face. “She has it. She has the journal.” He dropped the connection to Mason’s mind and the throbbing immediately ceased.

“I’m figuring out how to get it from her,” Mason said. His voice sounded smaller than it ever had before.

“Torture her until she gives it up, for all I care,” Ford hissed. “It’s not that hard, boy. Just get me that journal!” With a forceful wave of his arm, Mason was thrown out of the study and hit the hallway wall with a crack. The door slammed in front of him as he crumpled to the floor. Will watched him take a few pained breaths before he stood again. Mason didn’t like it when Will helped him up; he said it made him feel even more weak.

“Stupid old man,” he murmured angrily. He walked down the hall with Will on his tail. Once they were far enough away from the study door, Mason said to him, “When I get that journal, I’ll settle our deal. I’ll set you free, and then you’ll give me enough power to destroy him. Right?” Mason’s hand gripped the gemstone at his collar so hard that his knuckles turned white. He turned to Will with pure hatred in his eyes, which looked as if they were glowing blue. Will simply nodded in response. It wasn’t the first time Mason brought up their agreement, and it definitely wouldn’t be the last.

Mason moved through the winding halls until he reached his bedroom. He left Will outside and slammed the door behind him using his powers. He lifted the second journal off his desk and sent it flying into the wall with an angry shout. Mason threw himself onto his bed and stared up at the blank ceiling and tried to calm himself down.

He closed his eyes and could see Pacifica at the diner again, then at the Shack, fighting back against those haunted wax figures. He blamed her for trapping him with her friendly smiles and nose pokes. He blamed her for making all of this so much harder than it needed to be. He didn’t spend months searching for the journal and being thrown around by Ford only for him to stop once he actually found what he was looking for. Mason told himself that he wouldn’t put his power on hold for Pacifica.

But the more he said it to himself, the more he realized he was lying.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> mason :(


	6. The Inconveniencing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A hipster, a glowstick, and a wizard walk into a bar... but it’s actually a haunted convenience store.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My favorite summary so far lol

The morning after the Pines’ day on the town was a disaster. Mabel sat at the large oak breakfast table and stared down at the newspaper Stan had thrown onto the table in front of her. The front page was a picture of her and Gideon at the mall, enjoying smoothies in their matching blue outfits. The headline read, ‘Mabel Pines and her Lil’ Gideon?’

“Seriously, Mabel?” he asked in a gruff morning voice. He downed his coffee mug like it was a shot and slammed it on the table next to the paper. “You chose that one?”

“What’s wrong with that?”

“Many things,” he said. He started counting on his fingers, “He looks like a damn pig, he’s got crazy white hair, even in this photo he looks sweaty and awkward… need I say more?”

Mabel shrugged and sipped her tea. Just then, Mason came into the room and said, a little behind, “The Gleeful boy made the front page.”

“He’s the what?!” Stan cried hysterically, emphasizing the ‘what’. “That’s Bud Gleeful’s kid? Mabel! How are we supposed to run the Mystery Shack out of business when you’re off kahootin’ with the enemy?”

“Think of it as a business move, Grunkle Stan,” she said. It was an outright lie and they all knew it. “I could get their support behind the Tent of Telepathy and then we’ll eliminate the Shack from the inside.”

Stan laughed obnoxiously. “What a dumb idea! I like it.” He clapped her on the shoulder and she jerked forward into her cup of tea. He could be a huge jerk sometimes (all the time, actually), but Stan was nothing like Ford. He took pride in his cons and enjoyed messing with the twins. He was the closest thing they had to a normal family, even if he wasn’t really the best role model.

Mabel waved her hand and flipped the page to reveal a photo taken of Mason and Pacifica from outside the diner window. “Stupid press creeps,” Mason mumbled, using his telekinesis to pour himself some black coffee. It was a disgusting caffeine habit he had picked up from Stan.

“You’re just mad that you didn’t make the front page, brother,” Mabel teased smugly. He didn’t give her the satisfaction of arguing back.

“You too? Jesus, you kids are going to give me grandkids before I hit thirty,” he joked. He had long passed thirty. “What’s this one, another Gleeful kid?”

“A Northwest,” Mason said. He smiled into his coffee mug; it was his turn to enjoy the shock on Ford’s face. Mabel looked at him as if to say ‘yeah, right’, but he was dead serious. She didn’t know Pacifica was that kind of Northwest.

Stan would’ve jumped in joy if his brittle old man's knees let him. “Yes!” he cheered. “You struck a gold mine, kid! Tie the knot already!”

Mason went from being smug to bright red, which Mabel immediately noticed. This was not how they imagined the start of their day. They wondered if Pacifica and Gideon had read the paper yet.

-

The morning at the Gleeful household was also a disaster. The cousins had definitely read the paper. Gideon freaked out at the sight of his face on the front page and Pacifica choked on her toaster waffle at the sight of her and Mason. She read the headlines and articles a million times. It was just a dumb local gossip, but seeing ‘Pacifica Northwest’, ‘Mason Pines’, and ‘possibly dating’ in the same sentence was giving her a heart attack.

Bud and Melody weren’t much help either. They were teasing and celebrating the second the paper landed on the front porch. “We’re gonna be rich, son!” Bud cried happily. “And all because of your teen dating shenanigans!”

Gideon excused himself and went upstairs to hide under a mountain of pillows. Pacifica swallowed the last of her waffles and escaped to the gift shop, where Robbie Valentino had already started stocking shelves.

“Robbie!” she squeaked. “You’re back from your camping trip!” He nodded and gave her a warm smile.

He returned to the counter and laid out his own copy of the local paper, opening it to Pacifica’s article. “And you’re back from your date,” he teased, wiggling his eyebrows. She hid her face in her arms and groaned. She wouldn’t be able to escape that stupid paper all day.

“It wasn’t a date!” she said defensively. “He just wanted to hang out.”

“Oh please, Paz,” Robbie said with a chuckle. “Mason Pines? That’s not a guy that normally wants to hang out and take people to lunch. It was totally a date.”

“No!” It really bothered Pacifica that Robbie wasn’t more upset by this. Part of her wanted him to be jealous, but the other part of her was thinking about Mason. Was it really his intention to take her out on a date? Like, a date date? She didn’t even stop to think about Mason that way, but now that she did, he did flirt a little bit. She thought so, at least. And he did call her that stupid nickname.

“Earth to Paz,” Robbie said, waving his hand in front of her face. “I’m sorry. Did that upset you?” Pacifica shrugged. If she was going on dates with anyone, she kind of hoped it was Robbie. Not that Mason wasn’t good too, with his impossibly blue eyes and perfectly charming smile and dark atmosphere that somehow got her heated…

‘No, no, no,’ she thought. ‘I like Robbie. A lot.’ She blinked and stared at Robbie’s dark hair, which was tied into a small ponytail behind him. He was tall and had dark eyes and wore cool glasses and cool denim jackets with patches on them. He liked the woods as much as she did and he had a nice laugh and he owned a million houseplants. ‘Yes,’ she told herself. ‘Robbie is good.’

“Pacifica?” he asked again.

She shook her head and said, “Woah. Sorry, what were you saying?”

“Just apologizing for teasing you about the Pines kid,” he said with a shrug. “Anyways, my friends and I were thinking of hitting up that gas station just outside the town.”

“The haunted one?”

Robbie laughed. “Yeah, sure. Do you want to tag along after work?”

Pacifica’s excitement skyrocketed into the air. “Yes!” she said. “I mean, yeah, sounds cool.” She coughed and leaned on the counter in a sad attempt to be cool. Robbie laughed again and shook his head.

Just then, Pacifica’s phone vibrated and a text from an unknown number popped up.

‘Hey doll’

She blinked. For some reason, she didn’t expect Mason to actually text her. She typed out a response. ‘pretty boy?’

‘No, Mason’

She could almost see him rolling his eyes at the name. The thought brought a smile to her face.

‘Anywho, Mason Pines would like to know if you’d like to hang out later’

Her smile widened even more. Was he picking up her language? And asking to hang out again too? She was about to take up his offer when she suddenly remembered her hangout with Robbie. She frowned and thought about her options. She wanted to hang out with Robbie, but she also kind of needed to talk to Mason, especially since that paper came out. Why not kill two birds with one stone?

“Hey, Robbie? Do you mind if I bring a plus one to the gas station tonight?” she asked.

“Who? Your boyfriend?” he teased again.

“We’re not dating!” Pacifica protested.

“Okay, okay! Bring your ‘friend’. But it is Mason, right?” He put his hands up defensively. She nodded. “I figured. That text gave you a grin the size of Jupiter.” Pacifica sighed, exasperated, and turned away, still unable to suppress her smile. She texted Mason back.

‘Sure >:) meet me at the old gas station around 7’

-

Mason stood outside the convenience store’s locked doors in a dark blue, almost black buttoned shirt with the sleeves rolled up to the elbows. He shifted uncomfortably in the black jeans he chose to wear. This, again, was not a normal situation for him. He mentally cursed Pacifica for completely shoving him out of his comfort zone. He was wearing jeans, for Christ’s sake.

He wasn’t sure why she wanted to meet here or why he agreed to do it. It was getting more and more difficult for him to say no to her, like she was some dangerous addiction. Still, he needed to see her again (for the journal, of course), and if she wanted to see him in some abandoned gas station, then that was fine with him. Being completely alone with Pacifica Northwest wasn’t the worst thing he could think of. In fact, he could think of some pretty good things that could happen in a scenario like that.

Mason forced his imagination to shut down before it got… weird.

Just then, a ratty van pulled over and stopped next to the wire gate. Muffled rock music came from inside the car and Mason braced himself for a possible interaction. A tall, kind of lanky teen hopped out of the car wearing a green flannel and laced up brown boots. His dark hair was pulled into a high ponytail and he wore thin-framed glasses.

‘Yeesh,’ Mason thought with a scowl. ‘Hipsters.’

The hipster boy helped someone out of the car, someone with long blonde hair and white shorts and a black hoodie. And rubber bracelets on her ankles. Mason’s scowl deepened impossibly further. What in the hell was Pacifica doing in a van full of emo teens? And why was she laughing at everything the tall one said? And why-

“Mason!” she called, waving.

‘Shit,’ he thought. ‘Too late to run away now.’ He walked over to the rowdy group with his arms crossed. They started to shut up once he arrived. They stared at him from the other side of the gate, like he was some sort of zoo animal. ‘Is this what those wax people felt like?’ he thought.

“Hey, you came!” Pacifica said, giving him her classic smile. He returned her smile with his own strained one, but nobody else noticed it. Some of the teens were whispering about him. He heard little whispers about his powers and his sister and other crap that he didn’t feel like addressing in the moment.

“Hey,” said the tall green guy. He was irritatingly chill. “I’m Robbie. Mason, right? Paz talks about you a lot.” He nudged Pacifica with his elbow and she playfully shoved him, nervously laughing. Mason’s eyebrow shot up and he gave Pacifica an intrigued look.

“Does she, now?” She looked away quickly. Mason took that little victory. In the back of his mind, he threw that victory in Robbie’s stupid face. ‘Take that, hipster,’ he cheered. ‘She’s thinking about me!’

Robbie introduced the rest of his crew to Mason. There was Tambry, who had faded purple hair and looked like she was going to cry at any given moment. Thompson was an angry nerd that spent a lot of time staring at his phone. Nate and Lee were loud and made fun of each other a lot and, in Robbie’s words, were ‘destined to be boyfriends but were too scared to admit it’. Then there was Wendy Corduroy, a ‘hardcore emo’ with short red hair and a black hoodie with a heart patch on it. She wore an excessive amount of eyeliner.

The whole group radiated chaos, which was pretty normal for teenagers. Then again, Mason wasn’t too familiar with how normal teenagers acted. He was kind of irritated that he didn’t have Pacifica to himself, but he didn’t let it show. Not yet.

“Did you jump the fence?” Tambry asked.

“Yeah,” Mason lied. He wasn’t able to fly or go far or anything, but the gate was just high enough so that he could carry himself over using his powers.

“Nice, dude,” said Nate. Lee huffed and crossed his arms. “Jeez, Lee,” Nate said, “you’re so touchy. Take a chill pill, man.”

They all climbed over the gate, laughing when Tambry got too scared to jump off. Mason looked over to Pacifica, who wasn’t cheering like everyone else. He figured she’d be the odd one out here; edgy and judgy teens weren’t exactly her crowd. Everyone there looked at least two years older than them too.

Tambry fell off the gate and hit the ground with a shout. She sniffled as her friends laughed at her. Pacifica was the first and only person to help her up, which earned her a scoff and an eye roll from Wendy. “She’s fine,” she said. “You’re a tough girl, aren’t you, Tambs?”

After that, the group followed Wendy to the doors, which were sealed with a thick chain and lock. After several bent bobby pins and angry grunts later, Wendy punched the lock and left it alone, shoving her hands into her pockets. The group exchanged glances, unsure of what to do next.

“Can I try?” Pacifica asked meekly. Mason’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. Did perfect Miss Northwest know how to pick locks? Or break into places?

“Yeah, right,” Wendy jeered, “I can’t break it but this damn kid will be able to? Stupid.” Mason’s face twisted in disgust at her attitude towards Pacifica. He noticed Pacifica’s nervous expression as she fumbled with the lock. He was pretty sure she almost had it, but Wendy was starting to smirk in victory, and it was pissing him off to see her shove Miss Northwest around. He stood near the back of the group where no one could see him flick his hand. The lock clicked and the chain fell off with a noisy clatter.

Mason glanced up at Wendy’s shocked and angry face, but nothing beat the triumphant look on Pacifica’s. She opened the creaky door and let everyone inside, stopping Mason as he walked past. She grabbed his arm lightly and quietly said, “Thanks.” Inside, the teens had already turned on the power and lights. She walked in before him and he smiled to himself.

However, his little smile quickly disappeared as he watched Pacifica jog up to Robbie’s side. “Paz, check this out,” he said, pulling a bottle of chocolate milk out of the fridge and shaking it next to her ear. “Chunky milk from the 80s.”

She giggled and playfully shoved him again, saying, “Ew, Robbie, that’s so gross!” Mason’s nose scrunched up at the sight. She was being so touchy. Not that he cared.

Wendy came up to them and said, “I’d pay Tambry ten bucks to drink it.” The rest of the group laughed and cheered her on, chanting Tambry’s name over and over again, but even from the other side of the store Mason could see the discomfort on Pacifica’s face. She drifted to the back of the group and Mason walked up to her, hesitantly putting a hand on her back.

They went into a different aisle and he asked her, “Are you okay?”

She shrugged. “Yeah, I’m cool. Are you? Sorry I didn’t tell you there would be other people around.”

Mason shrugged. He did mind, but he accepted the apology. This crowd was nothing he couldn’t handle, anyways. “Are you sure you’re cool? This isn’t really your scene, doll.”

“I’m fine, I swear.” She looked over the shelf at Robbie, much to Mason’s dismay. “I really only came for him.” Mason’s stomach twisted, though he wasn’t sure what for.

“Yeah, well, the rest of this group is a bunch of crackheads,” Mason muttered. “Especially that Wendy girl. She’s kicking you around, doll.” Pacifica’s nose turned up at the comment. When Mason looked into her eyes, he could read her defensive thoughts.

“Mason, if you don’t want to be here, you can leave.” The sound of Tambry violently heaving and throwing up interrupted their conversation. “I know this isn’t really your crowd either.”

“I came here to see you. I’m not leaving, even if I’m tired of seeing you canoodle with green bean over there,” he said a little too harshly.

By now, Pacifica was getting annoyed. “What the hell, Mason? Maybe I do like him, but it’s not your place to get all angry about it. What, we hang out once and now I can’t hang with other crews? Just because the paper said we’re dating doesn’t mean we are!”

Mason had nothing to say to that. He looked down, unable to meet her eyes. He didn’t want to hear her angry thoughts, especially not if they were directed towards him. After all, she was right. Who was he to get stingy over her? “Sorry, Miss Northwest,” he said in the same calm but angry tone he used on her before they hung out. “I just thought I had someone in my life that I could look forward to hanging out with. Have fun getting kicked around.” Mason left her in the aisle and stormed out of the doors.

Robbie watched him leave and came up to a downcast Pacifica. “Couple’s quarrel?” he joked. She didn’t respond. “Come on, Paz. When you’re done killing the mood, we’ll be stuffing Tambry’s shirt with ice.” He left her there to process his rude comment. Robbie wasn’t usually like that, but it still put her on edge. Her stomach dropped as she watched Robbie walk up to Wendy and put an arm on her shoulder.

She took a moment to breathe and walked up to the counter, where the group had fallen silent. Pacifica looked over at what everyone else had stopped to stare at. Two white outlines were on the floor, side by side. “Woah,” Lee whispered, holding onto Nate’s arm.

Another moment of silence passed and Thompson whispered, “Ten bucks says Tambry won’t lay on it.”

“Nah,” Wendy interrupted, “I bet the kid here doesn’t have the balls to do it.” Pacifica wanted to argue that she didn’t have balls no matter what because she was a girl. She wanted to give Wendy two black eyes that matched her sloppy eyeliner. Instead, she practically stomped over to the nearest body outline and scowled.

“Shut up, Wendy,” she snarled. “You talk all this shit but I haven’t seen you do anything fun all night.” Robbie’s eyes widened in shock at Pacifica’s angry tone. She never got like this. The group held their breaths as she dropped to the ground and laid in the frame, seething. “See? It’s just a dumb outline.” Suddenly, the ground around her began to light up.

Outside, Mason stood leaning against the gate, pouting like a toddler. He hated stupid Pacifica and stupid hipster green bean and most of all, he hated how he brushed her off. He hated Pacifica for letting them treat her like crap. And he hated how he was still here, waiting for her to come out so he could apologize.

He stared at the dirt like it had personally wronged him. A sudden flash of light came from nearby, casting a shadow in front of him. Shouts came from the inside of the store. “Pacifica!” he gasped, running back.

The inside of the shop was a disaster. Two old ghosts floated above the terrified group of teens. Thompson tried to record the event, but his phone went flying into a shelf and he disappeared in a flash of light. His face appeared in the surveillance monitor hanging in the corner of the ceiling.

Tambry screamed and disappeared too, reappearing in the Dance Dance Revolution machine. She curled up into a fetal position and cried as arrows rained down on her. Nate and Lee tried to bolt, but they both went flying into the ice box before the door was shut and locked. They moved in closer to try warming up, but the temperature dropped faster and faster. To Pacifica’s amusement, Wendy turned into a hot dog.

Robbie fell to the ground and covered his head with his arms. “Please don’t hurt me!” he sobbed. Mason scowled again. ‘Pathetic,’ he thought, but even then, he saw Pacifica look down at him with concern instead of disgust. She was so kind.

“No, not you,” the female ghost said, “you’ve got a good soul, son.” Mason clenched his teeth so hard he thought they might shatter. Even these terrible old ghosts thought Robbie was great. Robbie ran outside immediately, leaving Pacifica alone. The ghost turned to her. “You! You let them in!”

Pacifica tried to run, but she was surrounded by blue light. She started screaming as she was lifted into the air, but the ghosts looked surprised. Mason brought his arm to his chest, pulling Pacifica to him as he stood in the doorframe. They were about to make it out when the male ghost pulled Mason into the building, locking the door behind him. Pacifica landed on the ground, stumbling into his chest. Without thinking, Mason wrapped a protective arm around her. She grabbed onto the front of his shirt, still watching the ghosts over her shoulder.

“Defiant boy!” the male bellowed. “You darn teens are all the same! All you want to do is rebel!”

“Yeah, you teens don’t know nothin’ cute anymore,” the female said.

“Something cute?” Pacifica mumbled. “I mean- “

“What’s that girl? Speak up,” the lady said.

“I… used to know this dance as a kid. The ‘lamby lamby dance’.” Mason suppressed a laugh but a small snicker still came out. Pacifica tugged on his shirt and looked up at him as if to say, ‘This is not the time!’

“Precious! We’ll let those friends of yours go if you give us a little dance.”

“I can’t!” Pacifica protested, realizing the hole she’d dug for herself. “I don’t have a lamb costume!” ‘Shoot,’ she thought as the ghost snapped and transformed her outfit into a soft lamb suit. She even had little ears and a tail and-

“Aw,” Mason laughed, looping his finger around the pink bow on her neck. Her face was more red than it had ever been before.

She broke away from him and took a deep breath. She started, “Well, who wants a lamby…” Mason watched, captivated, as she pranced around in her little outfit. He wasn’t sure how they’d be able to talk about this afterwards.

“Precious!” the ghosts repeated. “Thank you, dear.” They faded away as the lights turned back on and the crew reappeared one by one. Mason was upset to see that Pacifica’s lamb costume had disappeared. Nobody else seemed to remember what had happened.

“There was a ghost, a-and then- “ Tambry shivered.

“It’s so cold,” Nate said, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Lee.

Lee nodded. “I think it’s time to call it a night.” The group walked out until only Mason and Pacifica were left.

“So… the lamby- “

“Don’t even start,” Pacifica snapped. There was no real anger in her voice though. Mason stopped them where they were, held her shoulders, and looked into her eyes. She was tired.

“Hey,” he mumbled, “I’m sorry.” Pacifica didn’t make him explain what for. She understood that this was already a big step for him.

“Pazzy,” Robbie called from the other side of the gate. “You coming?”

Mason gave her a sad smile, as if to say, ‘I understand if you still want to go.’ Instead, he said, “Goodnight?”

She bit her bottom lip and called back, “Actually Robbie, I think I’ll walk home.” Robbie nodded back and got into the car before they drove off, disappearing down the road.

Pacifica’s head felt heavy. She fell into his chest, his hands still holding onto her shoulders. He slid them down so that he held her arms. He tried to keep a loose grip so that he wouldn’t hurt her. It felt so strange to be so close to someone. ‘Why is it so warm?’

“Are you sure? It’s a long walk, you could still call them back to get you,” he said quietly. He wanted to rest his head on hers but he felt something holding him back. Was this what fear felt like? His heart was racing. Pacifica didn’t say anything about it, but she could feel his heartbeat.

“I’m sure,” she replied.

“I guess I’m walking you back to the Shack, huh?”

“Mason?”

“Yes?”

“I’m glad you look forward to hanging out with me.” Mason closed his eyes while he held her longer, feeling an overwhelming mix of emotions bubbling up.

If only she knew just how much he meant that...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soft soft soft


	8. Mason vs. Manliness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mason faces the Ciphers in the Dreamscape and gets his fair share of nightmare material.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Starboy: a nickname given to Mason by Bill Cipher, referencing both the Tent of Telepathy logo and the star constellation birthmark on his forehead

Mason rolled around in his large, empty bed. His legs were twisted in the dark blue comforter and he laid sideways, moving his head to opposite sides of the pillow every few minutes. ‘Why am I sweating so much?’ he thought angrily. What made him even angrier was the fact that he knew the answer.

He rolled over to see the time on his digital clock. 4 am. He’d been trying to sleep for hours now. He had already gotten home late, and still Pacifica dwelled on his mind. She wouldn’t leave his thoughts, not even after a day, night, and walk home spent together. He still felt her leaning on his chest. It kept him awake. Then, when he tried to ignore the feeling, he felt empty. That kept him awake too.

Mason rolled onto his back and closed his eyes, focusing his mind until he could see the door. He drifted closer and closer to it until he could reach the doorknob, opening the entrance to the Dreamscape. Inside, a little blue triangle floated alone with its hands in bright blue chains.

“Will,” Mason called. His voice echoed in the empty expanse. Will’s single eye opened as Mason approached. “I have a personal question.”

“Is something wrong, Mister Pines? You never ask personal questions.”

“Something’s changing, Will. You’re the closest thing I have to a friend around here. I need advice.”

“Whatever you say, sir,” Will said. He sounded resigned.

“I don’t know how to go through with this anymore. I know I need the journal but I don’t want to use her.”

“You’ve used people in the past, sir. What’s different now?”

Mason took a while to reply. What was different now? What changed in only a few days that swayed him from the mission he was so intent on completing? “I don’t know,” he finally said.

“I think you do.” Will and Mason looked to their right, where a faded blue vision of Mason and Pacifica flickered into existence. In the dream version of the memory outside the gas station, Mason rested his head on hers the way he had wanted to do in real life. She moved in closer so that they were pressed together, and he wrapped his arms around her to hold their position. The apparitions froze before flickering again and disappearing. Mason frowned.

“You’re going soft, kid!” a third voice said. Where the vision once stood, a yellow triangle appeared in a flash of light. He was identical to Will in every way except color.

“Bill,” Mason sneered. “Should’ve known you’d intrude.”

“I’m intruding, Starboy? Don’t forget whose territory you’re in,” he said in his strange, echoing voice. “The Dreamscape is my world, kid!” Bill raised his arms around him to emphasize his point. “And what’s all this nonsense with blondie here?”

He snapped his fingers and suddenly Mason was in the gift shop again, standing next to the snow globes. Next to him, a past version of him stood over Pacifica, who was on the floor. The memory played out in silence while Bill spoke. “You started out as enemies, didn’t you?”

The scene switched in the blink of an eye and suddenly Mason was watching himself ask her out to lunch. Then they were at the diner and he was laughing like a normal person. “I knew you were just doing it for the journal, Starboy, but yeesh, your acting was so convincing! Here it looks like you’re actually enjoying yourself! Could’ve fooled me,” Bill laughed. Suddenly his voice switched into a dangerous tone. “And you did.”

Then Mason was standing outside the gate, looking in at him and Pacifica again. “This is real, isn’t it, Starboy? This is no act anymore.” Mason didn’t answer him. Bill already knew he was right. He pulled one last trick.

A soft hand touched Mason’s arm. “Mason?” called a familiar voice. He turned around and saw Pacifica, but when he looked into her eyes, he couldn’t read anything. She had no thoughts; she was only one of Bill’s tricks. Still, when their surroundings changed again and she fell, hanging onto the edge of a cliff, Mason felt real fear surge through his body. He reached out and held her up using his powers, but he couldn’t bring her back over to him, over land.

“Those powers seem pretty great, huh?” Bill asked. “Let’s say you keep heading down this path of emotions and sentiment. You can move along with this stupid summer fling of yours, but then what?” Mason used both hands now. This was draining all the energy out of him.

Bill continued, “At the end of the summer, she’ll be gone again with my journal. And you know what happens if you don’t get that journal, right?” When Mason didn’t answer again, he repeated himself, his voice growing louder and demonically deeper. “Right, Starboy?”

Mason shouted in pain as he kept Pacifica suspended in the air. His arms were burning as he used the last of his energy. Bill watched and, with a snap, Mason’s powers disappeared and Pacifica dropped. Mason reached over the cliff for her, but she slipped through his fingers and plummeted into the dark nothingness below. He couldn’t bring himself to scream, seemingly choking on his own voice.

“You’re soft,” Bill said. The ‘soft’ came out in his deep, monstrous tone. Mason hadn’t felt this terrified in so long. He stared into the abyss, even after the cliff underneath his knees faded back into black. “Drop the girl before I drop you. You’re no man, kid. She’ll see it eventually - you’ll only ever be a monster.”

Then, after Bill disappeared, Mason found himself staring at Pacifica, who was sitting at the counter in the gift shop. While people were distracted around them, she raised her blue eyes to his and stared into his soul with enough hate to make his heart ache. Even if it wasn’t real, it shook him to his core. Her voice echoed.

“The only monster in these woods is you.”

Mason shot up from his pillow in a cold sweat and gasped for air. He looked around the dark room and realized he was back in the real world. ‘Stupid Dreamscape,’ he thought angrily. ‘Why do I ever go back?’

He tossed and turned until the sun came up and dragged himself downstairs for breakfast. When he came down the stairs and stepped foot into the foyer, Will was standing at the bottom of the steps, waiting. He said to Mason, “You might want to listen to him, Mister Pines.”

Mason turned to look at him with tired eyes. He locked onto the eye that Will didn’t have covered with his white eyepatch. The glare sent an extremely clear message: ‘I answer to no one.’

He clenched his fists. He could get that damn journal. He could do it his way, without being a monster.

Mason was a man, no matter what that stupid yellow triangle demon said.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if this one is short, I just wanted to bring out the Dreamscape and Mason’s conflict

**Author's Note:**

> that's not all the characters that will pop up, just the important things that some of them start out with


End file.
